GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — On the southeast side of Grand Rapids Sunday morning, was an event reminiscent of our childhood: a book fair. There was more happening here though than an exchange of goods.
Chinyere Aririguzo came up with the idea of bringing a unique event like this to GR, for community engagement and to heal scars of what is a core memory for many, but not all: Scholastic Book Fairs.
"Some of us got really excited for them and took the magazine home and circled all the things they wanted, and then couldn't get most of it," she explained. "I wanted it to be a space for community engagement and for healing."
Sunday's event was free to attend and if you couldn't afford a book, there was help available so everyone could leave with one.
For many there, it was also the first book fair where the characters looked like them.
Event planner and co-host, Phalesha Kyes said, "What this means for the community is, it means that when you show up, you're going to feel seen, you're going to see yourself in books, you're gonna see yourself in the people that are here."
Kyes said the book fair is step one of healing yourself to pour into others.
All of the proceeds go to the Diatribe, an LGBTQ+ and minority-led nonprofit that aims to disrupt historical oppression by reimagining education.
"This event is really focused on uplifting our BIPOC community," Kyes added. "And all of the vendors here are focused on art, literature or healing."
It's all a work in progress, including the love of reading.
"You're more inspired to do that if you can relate to a character or if you see yourself in the character," Aririguzo remarked. "There's something that it does for you inside. And so I'm hoping that that spark also happens with other people."
They want this to be an annual event and say the overwhelming community support will help make it bigger and better.
